


Hidden

by rbarenblat



Category: Book: Esther - Fandom, Hebrew Bible, Megillah of Esther
Genre: Book: Esther, Chromatic Character, F/M, Midrash, Poetry, Purim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-16
Updated: 2011-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-17 01:00:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/171196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rbarenblat/pseuds/rbarenblat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Esther speaks out about her story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden

Vashti, the first favorite  
was well before my time, though  
I still wonder sometimes  
why he asked her to strip.  
Maybe he’d grown tired of her  
and needed an excuse.

Of course I use my body  
to get what I need: what woman  
doesn’t? But until now  
all I’ve needed were clothes,  
bread, the freedom to read  
in a quiet corner of the room.

The king thinks I hung the stars  
but when the time comes  
to make my play my hands shake.  
And Haman leers. He’s thinking  
 _casual threesome! score! _  
but I know karma's a bitch.__

The story ends in celebration  
and bloodshed, a revenge fantasy  
your children will retell  
for generations, but listen--  
I’m not a paragon of virtue.  
I’m not your blank canvas.

I was never hiding. I’m not  
a Torah scroll to be concealed  
behind ornate walls, then  
revealed bit by bit (here a flash  
of ankle, there a glimpse of hip)  
for your viewing pleasure.

I’m not God, veiling My face  
like the newest of moons.  
I’m a dark-skinned Persian girl  
raised on twisty Shushan streets  
who gambled for a favor  
and won.


End file.
